The sister who graduated has also gotten a bit of press attention as she made a cameo in one of Lady Gaga's videos.

I disagree that she could have necessarily gone incognito, even if she wanted. Most seniors in high schools (especially a smaller private school like this) are pretty familiar with their classmates and even their classmates' families. And because Gaga is so popular with that age group, I think most every graduate in there knew that their classmate is Lady Gaga's little sister and even did a video with her. Even if Gaga dressed down, all it would have taken is for the kids who knew Natali's (the sister)'s parents, find them in the crowd, and then spot Lady Gaga with them, whatever she was wearing. She would be hard to hide, as even dressed down because Lady Gaga and her sister look uncannily alike, almost like twins.

At another event it might be a faux pas but at a high school graduation, I think the grads might have been MORE disappointed had Lady Gaga not shown up, or shown up in a boring outfit. Any high schooler I know would rather have seen Lady Gaga at their graduation dressed in her style rather than her not show up at all, or show up and "be boring" because she might offend the parents in the audience. Most graduations are a long bit of monotony with about 30 seconds of individualized excitement (when "your" grad walks across the stage). As long as made no ruckus in the audience to disrupt that, she would be fine.

The sister who graduated has also gotten a bit of press attention as she made a cameo in one of Lady Gaga's videos.

I disagree that she could have necessarily gone incognito, even if she wanted. Most seniors in high schools (especially a smaller private school like this) are pretty familiar with their classmates and even their classmates' families. And because Gaga is so popular with that age group, I think most every graduate in there knew that their classmate is Lady Gaga's little sister and even did a video with her. Even if Gaga dressed down, all it would have taken is for the kids who knew Natali's (the sister)'s parents, find them in the crowd, and then spot Lady Gaga with them, whatever she was wearing. She would be hard to hide, as even dressed down because Lady Gaga and her sister look uncannily alike, almost like twins.

At another event it might be a faux pas but at a high school graduation, I think the grads might have been MORE disappointed had Lady Gaga not shown up, or shown up in a boring outfit. Any high schooler I know would rather have seen Lady Gaga at their graduation dressed in her style rather than her not show up at all, or show up and "be boring" because she might offend the parents in the audience. Most graduations are a long bit of monotony with about 30 seconds of individualized excitement (when "your" grad walks across the stage). As long as made no ruckus in the audience to disrupt that, she would be fine.

Well said Amber. You made the point I've been trying to make throughout the thread better than I have.

I'm going to agree with Lilac Bunny on this one. Out of the hundreds of people present, the only people I expected to be cheering for me at my high school graduation were my family and friends, and they still would have cheered for me if Jesus Christ himself were sitting in the bleachers. President Obama came to speak at a high school graduation in my hometown this year, and I imagine that had to be a *lot* more interesting/exciting than a pop star showing up just to watch. If I were one of those kids, I'd think it was neat to have someone famous there to make my graduation stand out. It'd definitely be a story for the grand kids. Still, I obviously can't speak for everyone, so that's just my 2 cents.

As for the outfit, I can at least understand her reasoning from an interview she once gave (I can't remember where, or I'd link it). In it, she said something like she doesn't really have "street clothes" as she believes celebrities owe it to their fans to be dressed to the nines at all times, and she thinks it's weird when celebrities go out in sweats and no make up, or what have you. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with this statement, but that seems to be her reasoning for getting into costume at every available opportunity.

The sister who graduated has also gotten a bit of press attention as she made a cameo in one of Lady Gaga's videos.

I disagree that she could have necessarily gone incognito, even if she wanted. Most seniors in high schools (especially a smaller private school like this) are pretty familiar with their classmates and even their classmates' families. And because Gaga is so popular with that age group, I think most every graduate in there knew that their classmate is Lady Gaga's little sister and even did a video with her. Even if Gaga dressed down, all it would have taken is for the kids who knew Natali's (the sister)'s parents, find them in the crowd, and then spot Lady Gaga with them, whatever she was wearing. She would be hard to hide, as even dressed down because Lady Gaga and her sister look uncannily alike, almost like twins.

At another event it might be a faux pas but at a high school graduation, I think the grads might have been MORE disappointed had Lady Gaga not shown up, or shown up in a boring outfit. Any high schooler I know would rather have seen Lady Gaga at their graduation dressed in her style rather than her not show up at all, or show up and "be boring" because she might offend the parents in the audience. Most graduations are a long bit of monotony with about 30 seconds of individualized excitement (when "your" grad walks across the stage). As long as made no ruckus in the audience to disrupt that, she would be fine.

But Lady Gaga was not there to "perform" for the high schoolers, so whether or not they would have been "disappointed" by her appearance is immaterial. I think she was obligated not to call attention to herself that she might have received at a "celebrity outing," shall we say and tone herself down. She was not "fine" to call attention to herself that any other guest would not have received.

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We don't have to know anything. We've seen the outfit. She's got no class and I continued to wonder how on earth this woman even became a celebrity.

We do know that she was rather gaudily dressed for a commencement event. We do not know why. There is no proof that she was gaudily dressed to get back at the school. She wears the same outfits to perform on MTV. Is that to get back at the school as well?

As for whether or not she has class, I've never met the woman and I do not follow her in the news so I am unable to comment on this aspect of her personality.

But she wasn't performing on MTV. She was attending a high school graduation. Appropriate attire for the former is almost certainly not appropriate attire for the latter. I usually wear jeans and t-shirts/tank tops or layered shirts, but just because that how I usually dress doesn't mean I wouldn't change it when the occasion required.

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"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies DO divert me, I own- and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Jane Austen

I've noticed a lot of posters saying that Gaga couldn't have gone incognito if she wanted to, or that the paparazzi, etc. would have found her even without an outlandish outfit. That may be true, but I still don't think it's an excuse. She had choices here: either figure that she's going to be recognized no matter what, so just go all out OR figure that she's going to be recognized no matter what, but do what she can to keep that recognition to a minimum and deflect the attention from herself back to the grads but toning it down for a day. She apparently went with the first option when, IMO, the second one would have been much classier and more appropriate.

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"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies DO divert me, I own- and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Jane Austen

I have a bit of a different take on this. I graduated from high school with the sister of an actress who, at the time, was the most famous actress around. She's still super famous! The actress arrived a week early, watched our senior play, attended our graduation, and almost no one knew (we happened to be good friends, so I knew). The actress and her family worked really hard to make sure the focus stayed on us, not on her.

To me, that's the classy way to handle this situation. Lady Gaga...not so much. Although "Paparazzi" is still my current favorite sing a long song.

I have a bit of a different take on this. I graduated from high school with the sister of an actress who, at the time, was the most famous actress around. She's still super famous! The actress arrived a week early, watched our senior play, attended our graduation, and almost no one knew (we happened to be good friends, so I knew). The actress and her family worked really hard to make sure the focus stayed on us, not on her.

To me, that's the classy way to handle this situation. Lady Gaga...not so much. Although "Paparazzi" is still my current favorite sing a long song.

Pod, pod, poddity-pod! (Can I ask who the actress was?? )

Also, if it's true that Gaga dressed the way she did as a way to "get back" at the school and classmates she disliked, that makes it even more inappropriate. Someone else's graduation is neither the time nor the place to be acting out your own petty vendettas.

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"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies DO divert me, I own- and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Jane Austen

I still wonder if she's become so used to using her persona as a shield that she really can't bring herself to appear in public without all the costuming.

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

I still wonder if she's become so used to using her persona as a shield that she really can't bring herself to appear in public without all the costuming.

It does just seem to be her way of dressing. It's her normal.

That still doesn't make it appropriate. My "normal" is jeans and a tank top, but I'm not going to wear that to a friend's formal wedding. I'm going to dress up in formal clothes out of respect for the couple. Sometimes your own personal comfort has to give way to accommodate the needs of other people and situations.

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"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies DO divert me, I own- and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Jane Austen

I have a bit of a different take on this. I graduated from high school with the sister of an actress who, at the time, was the most famous actress around. She's still super famous! The actress arrived a week early, watched our senior play, attended our graduation, and almost no one knew (we happened to be good friends, so I knew). The actress and her family worked really hard to make sure the focus stayed on us, not on her.

To me, that's the classy way to handle this situation. Lady Gaga...not so much. Although "Paparazzi" is still my current favorite sing a long song.

Pod, pod, poddity-pod! (Can I ask who the actress was?? )

Also, if it's true that Gaga dressed the way she did as a way to "get back" at the school and classmates she disliked, that makes it even more inappropriate. Someone else's graduation is neither the time nor the place to be acting out your own petty vendettas.

I agree.

And even if some of the students would be thrilled to have their graduation "upstaged" by Lady Gaga, that doesn't mean everyone would, and it's those students' graduation too.

I mean, if Britney Spears (the big, popular one when I graduated) had shown up at my graduation and drawn attention away from the event, and people were telling me I should be thrilled to have seen her there, my response would probably have been: "Why? I'm not a fan."

And even if some of the students would be thrilled to have their graduation "upstaged" by Lady Gaga, that doesn't mean everyone would, and it's those students' graduation too.

But so long as she sat quietly through the ceremony, she didn't upstage anything.

If the rest of the audience is so rude and crass as to cause a disturbance, that's not really her fault, any more then it would be the fault of someone completely unknown, but dressed in traditional cultural clothing that caught the eye.

And even if some of the students would be thrilled to have their graduation "upstaged" by Lady Gaga, that doesn't mean everyone would, and it's those students' graduation too.

But so long as she sat quietly through the ceremony, she didn't upstage anything.

If the rest of the audience is so rude and crass as to cause a disturbance, that's not really her fault, any more then it would be the fault of someone completely unknown, but dressed in traditional cultural clothing that caught the eye.

A strobe light doesn't have to make noise to be distracting. Her attire has the same impact as a strobe light.